The secrets of “Hoy”, a song that Gian Marco created for Peru and is now an anthem of the Argentine bar

Gian Marco He has mixed feelings. On the one hand, he feels proud; On the other hand, he finds it ironic that “Hoy”, the song he wrote for Peru, is now part of a campaign for the Argentina soccer team with a view to the 2024 Copa América.

“Yesterday (last Thursday) I saw that Messi had shared it on his Instagram stories, accompanying it with images of his training. As a football fan, seeing the best player in the world with my song is an immense honor”, he points out, excited. “I understand that the version recorded by The La Planta and Valentino Merlo has a flavor of Argentine cumbia that is tremendously popular in that country. That’s how songs are, they seek their destiny,” he adds.

“Hoy” was written on November 2, 2002, in Miami. At that time Zignago Alcover was beginning to experiment with harmonious sequences with folklore and decided to make a song about the feeling of being outside of Peru and far from those he loves most.

“I had left everything to start over in another land and I started to think about all the experiences I had in Peru since my beginnings, how grateful I was, with everything, the good and the bad.“, remember.

In this hymn to Peru, the three-time Latin Grammy winner expresses his deep love for his roots and treasures his most cherished memories. In the phrase: “I have a constant morning and a watercolor waiting to see you painted blue,” he makes a contrast with “the Arequipa watercolors,” which he “loves,” and the “gray sky” of Lima.

“A little steep road” is a reference to the Andes and “I have the sea on the other side” refers to when I lived in Miami. “My sea is the Pacific, not the Atlantic”, he nods.

“Hoy” was going to be part of his album “Resucitar”, but an unexpected visit by Gloria Estefan to his studio while he was recording the song changed everything. This took a different direction and became a global success in the voice of the iconic Cuban artist.

“Gloria was looking for repertoire for her album ‘Unwrapped’. I was working with Emilio Estefan at the time, so it wasn’t unusual for her to stop by the studio. One day, while she was working on the songs, she came in to listen to what we were producing for my album and she heard ‘Your Photography’, ‘Mientras Tanto’ and ‘Hoy’. She told me that she wanted to record them and even make an English adaptation of them.“, remember.

“That’s how this song took another turn and that amount of detachment that I learned to have with songs paid off in the voice of one of the most popular singers in the world.”, he adds Gian Marco about this installment that has been versioned in English and Hebrew.

“I was surprised when I heard it many years ago in a Hebrew adaptation performed by an Israeli singer named Romi Dalumi”, he details.

More than 20 years have passed since Gian Marco composed this song, and despite this, he never ceases to be moved every time he performs it, often to the point of tears.

“I think that all of us who live outside our country remember with nostalgia the moments we experienced. I also feel that many of us who live abroad have the hope of one day returning forever…all those feelings are mixed in the emotion“, sentence.